Wuhan Documentary Shorts

Wuhan, a city defined by its two rivers, three towns, and four banks, is a complex tapestry woven from individuals and groups, subjectivity and objectivity, reality and dreams, space and time, reality and fiction, blockage and release, clenching and opening. This collection of short films presents a Wuhan that is different from conventional documentary films. These filmmakers employ various visual techniques such as live-action filming, printmaking, animation, and compilation to explore and capture the attachment and symptoms of Wuhan's existence. Co-presented by Wuhan Bailin Film Festival.

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Veronica Persica (2023)
Dir. Qian Han
16min, DCP
In Mandarin with English subtitles

Veronica persica, a flowering plant commonly known as Persian speedwell, is native to the Caucasus region at the border of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, and gradually spread to Europe, Britain, and Asia, carried by the wind and human migration. In China it is listed as an invasive foreign species, discovered and recorded in 1933 and harvested from Wuhan. Veronica persica grew next to Qian Han’s grandmother's home, and after that house was demolished, the artist walked through its ruins and unexpectedly found the little blue flower that had accompanied her childhood memories, still blooming where it once was. In this semi-fictional film, she interweaves her grandmother's journey as a first-generation immigrant to Wuhan with the journey of Veronica persica.

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The Disc (2020)
Dir. Xiang Yao
5min, DCP
In Wuhan dialect with English subtitles

The Disc is a true record of a conversation between two female friends, from which the audience can get a glimpse of the conflict between mainstream nuclear families and sexual minorities. The movie combines video recording, animation, and image re-creation in an attempt to create a multi-dimensional experience of documentary images.

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Cupping (2024)
Dir. Yang Yuye
26min, DCP
In Mandarin with English subtitles

In the massage room of the hospital, nurse Xiaoxiu and I exchanged a story that "no one has told anyone."

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Southern Wind (2024)
Dir. Wang Di
31min, DCP
In Mandarin with English subtitles

Starting from 2020, COVID-19 broke out all over the country, with Wuhan as the hardest-hit area. On a special day with wind and snow, Chen Huiying and her family returned to their hometown in Hubei to accompany the elderly for the Spring Festival. Many roads were closed, effectively preventing and controlling the spread of this epidemic. Workers were forced to stay home, watching overwhelming news of infections and deaths rising sharply on all-day TV news and the internet. Accompanied by fear and anxiety, everyone settled into routine, and children sought fun in enclosure as days passed and families waited for the situation to improve.

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Jia (2017)
Dir. Li Cheng
12min, DCP
In Mandarin with English subtitles

On returning to China, Li Cheng learns that the woman who brought him up has passed away, and his neighborhood was due to be demolished. The filmmaker holds onto his camera to try to stop time in its tracks, finding comfort in fond memories. The result is this autobiographical, animated documentary film, a sorrowful journey about the China where he grew up, and about Jia, who loved him.